Song Writing

10. Just Dance by Lady GaGa
This was the song that introduced us to the extraordinary world of Lady Gaga. The New York dance/pop star told us to "just dance" and we certainly did. As this club anthem was Lady Gaga's first release, you wanted to find out more not only about the song, but also where Ms. Stefani Germanotta got her stage name from. (For those of you not in the know, it was the Queen song "Radio Ga Ga").


9. You Belong With Me by Taylor Swift
To say Taylor Swift had a remarkable 12 months is a massive under statement. She had the top selling album of the year and became the youngest woman to win the Country Music Association's entertainer of the year award. Most notably she had "You Belong With Me" placed #9 on The Songfacts Top 10 of 2009, which could be troubling Kanye West as he's nowhere to be seen on the list. This country-pop number was the teenage singer-songwriter's most successful song to date, peaking at #2 on the Billboard 100 and staying for nearly for half the year on the chart.


8. Gives You Hell by All American Rejects
This was the most successful song to date for pop punkers, The All-American Rejects, peaking at #5 on the Billboard Hot 100. A lot of you really identified with the tongue-in-cheek lyrics and you wanted to know who the song was directed to and to find out more about the warring neighbours video.


7. Fireflies by Owl City
The surprise #1 of 2009, this song seemed to come from nowhere to top the Billboard Hot 100. We told you the totally useless fact that it was the first chart-topper with an animal in its title by an artist with an animal in his/her's name since the Chipmunks' "The Chipmunk Song" in 1958. You loved the way lyrically this number by Minnesota native Adam Young, a.k.a. Owl City, made you think and you also appreciated the way it was sonically crafted.


6. Paparazzi by Lady Gaga
This treatise on the nature of fame is the second entry on the list for the headline-grabbing fashionista from New York. Many of you have been going gaga over this Lady and "Paparazzi" is the second by her on this list. Interestingly the country with the third most visitors to this song's Songfacts page after the Americans and the Brits were the residents of the island city state of Singapore. "Sing-a-more Gaga" was their cry-actually it wasn't, that was just our weak idea for a pun but you get the drift.


5. USe Somebody by Kings of Leon
Already popular in the UK and several other countries, 2009 was the year when Kings of Leon broke through into the rock premier league in their homeland. It was the success of "Use Somebody" and "Sex on Fire," which catapulted the three Followill brothers and their cousin into the mainstream. The latter song was released in 2008 and is therefore not eligible for this survey, but this power ballad about longing for someone to hold close clearly captured your imagination in a big way.


4. Sissy's Song by Alan Jackson
Alan Jackson This is the surprise entry on our list. In fact folks outside of America might be wondering- who the heck is Alan Jackson and how did this guy that I've never heard of get on the Songfacts Top 10 of 2009? Well, for the uninitiated, this country song was written for the funeral of the Jackson family's housekeeper and it evidently grabbed your interest in a big way, as many of you tried to find out more about the story behind Sissy. Also people who had lost loved ones were deeply moved by the song's lyrical content and it is thus surprising that it was not a greater commercial success and only reached #61 on the Hot 100.


3. You Found Me by The Fray
This was the first single from piano-rock band The Fray's second album and their third Billboard Hot 100 Top 10 hit. Many of you wanted to find out what prompted frontman Isaac Slade to pen this tune about the let downs that come with life and asking God the question "why"? This is an educated guess, but from what we can ascertain, more people googled for the meaning of "You Found Me" than any other song released in 2009. We do know that a fair percentage ended up on Songfacts- we hope you found what you were looking for.


2. 21 Guns by Green Day
21 Guns by Green Day 21st Century Breakdown was to many the most awaited album of 2009 so it was of no surprise that the most successful single from the set generated so much interest. Were we to do Songfacts Top Hundred of 2009 the Berkeley-bred punk/pop trio would have had several more songs on the list. A number of you noted this 'cell-phones-in-the-air anthem's' chorus was similar to those of Mott The Hoople's "All the Young Dudes" and ELO's "Telephone Line" but that didn't prevent it being nominated for Grammies for Best Rock Performance by a Duo/Group with Vocals and Best Rock Song.


1. Poker Face by Lady Gaga
"Just Dance" may have introduced Lady Gaga to the world, however "Poker Face" took her into the stratosphere. It is therefore of no surprise that this tune comes top of The Songfacts Top Ten of 2009. On the face of it Pah-Pah-Pah "Poker Face"was just a catchy tune with an addictive hook, but as you dug deeper into the lyrics you wanted to find out more. Was it merely comparing playing with guys to playing poker or did it have another meaning with hints of bisexuality? Whatever your views are, it cannot be denied that Gaga played a crafty hand with this song.


Ed Pearce, who wrote this piece, is an author and film extra (credits include The Dark Knight, Garfield 2, Sherlock Holmes and Nowhere Boy). Ed has always been interested in collecting trivia and has been contributing to Songfacts for several years. In 2004 he had his first book published, a lighthearted blend of cookery, history, trivia and humor, Food for Thought: Extraordinary Little Chronicles of the World.